She loved his house. But she loved the barn, too, especially against the backdrop of fall foliage.
She loved this whole farm, in fact. The apple orchard. The pond. The paths meandering through dense trees. This place charmed her and calmed her. Somehow, her soul could rest here more easily than it had been able to rest anywhere.
It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness inside the barn. Where was Sam?
She yelped and startled backward. He was immediately to her right, standing a few rungs up a ladder, striking a pose.
He held a gray kitten against his torso, one arm beneath it, one arm supporting it from the side. He braced his legs apart and smiled winningly into the distance.
He was reenacting the August photo from herFirefighters and Kittenscalendar.
She burst out laughing. Her only sorrow—that he wasn’t shirtless like Mr. August.
The kitten wiggled. The tiny mite wasn’t dozing in Sam’s arms the way the kitten in the calendar photo had.
She laughed harder.
His gaze flicked to hers. Amusement warmed his features. “Well?” he asked. “Do I look like Mr. August?”
“Better.”
“Better?”
“So much better.”
“Because this doesn’t feel very sexy. This beast is scratching me up.”
“Extreme sexiness comes at a price.”
“A high price,” he agreed, breaking the pose and moving the kitten to his shoulder, trying to position him like a parent would a baby who needed burping. The animal scrabbled madly for purchase. “What woman could resist this?”
“Not me.” She extended her hands. “Here. Want me to take him?”
“Please.”
She lifted the kitten from him. “Aw. He’s more fluff than substance.”
“And more anger than fluff.”
She repeatedly stroked a fingertip down the animal’s forehead. “Did you adopt a kitten?”
“No, Eli’s girlfriend did. They’re both out of town for a night and they asked me if I’d babysit.”
“Isn’tkittensitthe proper term?”
“I should have said no.”
But, of course, he’d said yes. Because, at heart, he was a protector.
“What’s his name?”
“Abner.”
She raised the animal so that she could smile at him eye to eye. “Hi, Abner.”
“Hi, Gen,” Sam whispered in a raspy voice.
“Is that your Abner voice?”
